A Bristol Freighter Sortie
David Drury
A Bristol Freigher being loaded
I was the Air Despatch Crew Commander on this aircraft, and had my troop commander, who shall remain nameless to avoid embarrassment, as my number four. During a two hour low level crosscountry flight over the Malay Peninsular jungle before the drop, in bumpy conditions, he managed to fill three sick bags.
During the drop at Kangar Kahang DZ, he filled another one and took no further part in the drop. On the way back to Changi flying low level once again, myself and my other seasoned dispatchers were laying in the open door, waving to local villagers along the river. I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was my troop commander, almost at the door with his four sick bags. We managed to scramble clear as he threw them out of the door before I could stop him doing so. The sick bags hit the slip stream and were blown back into the aircraft, splitting open as they hit the rear bulkhead! Did I bollock him for that!
On landing he was the first one off the aircraft and disappeared, leaving us to remove used static lines, safety belts and other equipment. The duty driver took us back to Telok Paku, after I had apologised to the RAF ground crew, who had to clear up the mess. On arrival, I was summoned to the TC's office and sworn to secrecy about this incident. Unfortunately, it was too late!